Companions
by blueoceannymph789
Summary: Jin, Mugen and Fuu head out for their separate ways... but hesitate...


**Hello everyone! This is a one-shot story I wrote after I finished watching Samurai Champloo (so there are some minor spoilers!). **

**Hope you enjoy it :)**

**I do not own Samurai Champloo!**

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><p><strong>Companions<strong>

Jin exhaled a little louder than natural and fought the urge of looking back while the smile still lingered on his lips…

Mugen brushed his fingers through his jet black hair as a feeling of great wonder crushed inside of him…

Fuu grinned feeling her heart race like she had so often felt it during this journey, though this time it was not just her heart beating wildly but all her senses had reached a whole new level as she sank into this unique ecstasy of true happiness.

Her eyes fell on a big snail on her path and she kneeled to take a closer look. The darker brownish green swirls on its shell reminded her of those strange carved marks on Mugen's katana's handle. At once that feeling of happiness vanished, just like the bright sun had above her head by a big white cloud.

Fuu stood up and was about to check on them from the corners of her eyes, but she stopped midway knowing that if she did then… she would not be able to walk away. She had already done it twice… but she could not do it a third time…

The grip inside her chest tightened and she clenched her fists while she observed the beautiful sky as vast as Jin's gaze; mysterious but so welcoming, promising her protection and comfort any time she needed…

"Argh!" Fuu grunted lowering her head.

"You know, you're supposed to walk ahead!" Mugen shouted cupping his mouth.

Fuu flinched and finally looked back at him.

He was giving her his casual grin making her skip a heartbeat.

"Then why did _you_ stop?" Fuu shouted back cupping her mouth as well. To her left she noticed that Jin had also halted watching them. Fuu couldn't suppress a beaming smile.

"You stopped first!" Mugen yelled crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You were watching me then?" Fuu joked knowing that this would irritate the ex-convict.

Mugen's brows twitched and he started walking heavily back to the crossroads where they had parted.

Fuu followed his example with great pleasure while Jin stayed where he was not taking his eyes off of the two.

When Fuu met Mugen she heard his belly singing and in response hers did too.

"Oh man!" Mugen sighed tiredly.

"We just ate. How can you be hungry again?" Jin spoke from the other side of the field. Mugen and Fuu looked at him surprised that he was audible although he was not shouting.

"You heard us from there? Wow, we must be really hungry!" Fuu laughed and folded herself as the laughter grew harder. Mugen laughed as well as loud as he could.

Jin rolled his eyes and finally made his way towards them.

"I've never met anyone like you two!" Jin muttered when he reached them.

But both Fuu and Mugen were too caught up in their hysteric laughter on the edge of fainting from being unable to breathe.

A breeze caused the animate green grass around them flow like waves on the ocean catching their attention.

Fuu sighed holding her stomach while Mugen scratched his chin looking all serious.

"So, let's hurry up or I'll start eating the grass!"

"Yap, yap! Let's head to… Kagoshima!" Fuu raised her fist in the air and started heading the way Jin had taken, but the tall samurai grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Kagoshima is that way!" Jin pointed towards the direction she had previously taken. "But you really want to travel another week before you eat?"

"Then let's go back to Nagasaki!" Mugen said.

"Hn!"

"Oh no! Why go to a town we went already?" Fuu complained childishly. "Let's head to a new town. Somewhere we've never been before!"

"I have been in Kagoshima before!" Mugen spoke stretching his arms over his head, but hissed with pain when he raised his right one causing his deep cut on his side to burn.

"Fine! Then you should know the way! Come on! Let's go!" Fuu spoke and led the way. Mugen followed but Jin stayed at the same spot looking thoughtful.

Fuu glanced at him over her shoulder and halted causing Mugen to bump into her.

"Hey!"

"Jin…" Fuu said in an undertone fearing that Jin didn't want to follow her any longer. Mugen looked at Jin.

"You're not coming?" Fuu asked. When she witnessed a shadow crossing Jin's gaze she regretted it immediately for asking and felt her legs ready to sprint so that she could ran and never look back… she should have never turned around when they finally had parted…

Now it was as difficult as ever…

"Have you thought what you're going to do now?" Jin asked her avoiding answering her question.

Fuu met his eyes and pressed her lips to restrain herself from crying. He would go… she knew it…

"I want to… I… want to continue this journey until… I think of a reason to stop. Until something keeps me from moving onto the next town." She said with a grief expression.

"Then why the hell do you look so sad?" Mugen asked rudely.

Fuu gave him a killer-glance.

"There's nothing back there for me. I just want to continue this journey."

"A journey without a destination is like-!" Jin began but Fuu cut him off.

"Like what? I never said that I require your company or anything! It's just that… that… we may never meet again!" Fuu said the words she feared to say out loud and lowered her head.

Mugen gave Jin an accusing glare.

"You know what…" Fuu wiped her emerging tears before they fell on her cheeks. "When I asked you to accompany Sara-san, I… I… dammit!" she turned her back to the two men and started walking away but stopped a couple of steps away wondering where that previous, magical and wonderful feeling of happiness had gone.

Fuu turned around quickly and bowed slightly.

"Thank you… for everything!" she said and ran away the same road she had followed earlier and she ran and ran until she could no longer hear them, until she made sure they could not notice the tears from falling and until she found herself in the woods where she could no longer see them…

"What was that?" Mugen asked pressing his lips together staring into the direction which Fuu had taken.

Jin remained silent and Mugen noticed how he clenched his fists under his wide sleeves.

"Well… I guess that's it!" Mugen sighed after a long moment of silence and was about to make his own way when he felt the cold grip of Jin's around his tattooed wrist.

There was a frown of deep concern and uneasiness on his face which caused Mugen to really look at him.

"You know what she's talking about… don't you?" Jin asked, his voice sounding calm unlike his face.

Mugen raised an eyebrow pulling his hand out of his.

"Maybe… maybe not… will you pay me to tell you?" Mugen chuckled evilly, but for the first time Jin's glare made him stop all mischief he had planned in his head. He put a serious face and glanced back at the road Fuu had taken.

"I don't know what kind of sentimental crap she had thought over of doing so, but… she was testing you." Mugen said simply.

He thought he heard Jin sigh angrily.

"She thought you'd refuse." He added and crossed his arms again on his chest. "But… if you had, we would have never found out of Sara's true intensions. I would have been too blind to see it." Mugen chuckled with the irony of his words and glanced back at Jin.

The ronin looked too deep in his thoughts and his fingers trailed upon the blue handle of his katana and wakizashi.

"This girl… she has such an influence on me like no one ever had. It's weird, it's like… I like having her pull my strings or something!" Mugen spoke and Jin noticed a smile appear on his lips.

"It seems that… she knows how to pull both of our strings!" Jin agreed and closed his eyes taking a deep inhale.

"Where you heading somewhere?" Mugen asked.

Jin shook his head.

"I just thought of going back to Edo, but…"

"What about that Kohana-chick?"

Jin opened his eyes.

"I cannot leave her alone…" he muttered, his voice deeper than usual.

"Kohana?"

"No… Fuu!"

Mugen stared at the pale face of Jin and finally broke into a smile.

"You bastard! You really needed ten minutes to figure that out? You're slower than I thought! Hah!" Mugen hit him hard on his shoulder-blade, causing the tall samurai to groan, and with big steps followed the road Fuu had taken.

Jin chuckled softly and dug his hand in the inner pocket of his shirt where he had hid the farewell letter Fuu had written them when she attempted to go meet the samurai that smelled of sunflowers by herself.

He watched her untidy handwriting and folded it neatly again to hide it.

After he had finally made his first two friends, why would he abandon them like this…

He was hunted everywhere back in Edo because of the accusations of being the murderer of his master, but here, in the far south perhaps he could find a peaceful place. One where he would be respected for his talents in swordsmanship and one he could perhaps share with those two nut-heads…

"Hurry! Before we find her jump off a cliff from being too sentimental!" Mugen called him and started running.

Jin frowned and ran after him. When he ran past him, Mugen roared with fury and ran faster and so they did, until there were nothing but tall trees surrounding them and the breeze had subsided… until they were both panting and feeling piercing burns all over their fresh wounds… until they saw in the distance that small, pink-dressed silhouette of their companion…


End file.
